Call Sign: Thunder

by Livia Grant

  "Of course. I'd be happy to."

  The men walked silently down the long hall and out into the small courtyard. There were only two small benches on a small stone patio surrounded by overgrown greenery. They were thankfully alone.

  Zach followed Mr. Benson's lead, taking a seat on the opposite end of the bench the father sank on to. He slumped slightly, betraying how tired he was. He guessed they were all going to be tired for a while.

  Zach had no clue what he should say in this moment. He had hoped Allie's dad would do most of the talking. His mind was blank. What was appropriate conversation at this juncture? He couldn't exactly ask if Allie was still desperate to be fucked from the drugs she'd been given. That would most likely not go over well.

  Mr. Benson cleared his throat before finally speaking. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for my little girl." Emotion made his voice crack.

  "It was my honor, sir."

  "I have something to ask you. Allie… well, she's upset. Obviously. She refused to talk to me about… well… the details." He turned to face Zach, anguish in his eyes. "I need to know what they did to her."

  Shit. Zach hadn't expected her father to try to wrestle the details out of him. Why hadn't Allie told him what happened?

  Duh, Garrett. What happened to Allie wasn't exactly the kind of thing a woman wanted to talk about with her daddy.

  Zach progressed carefully. "I'm sure Allie is in a better position to tell you the details, Mr. Benson. I mean, I only know what happened there at the end. I don't know how they captured her or how long she was held before I found her."

  "Thank God they didn't have her long. I know she was kidnapped from the back of a taxi only ten minutes away from her campus in Bogotá. Those fucking bastards in Colombia promised me they'd keep an eye on her. Watch her. Keep her safe. She's not even two weeks into the semester and the bastards nabbed her right out of the back of a fucking car."

  The news surprised Zach. He had tried to figure out why Allie was in Colombia, but he hadn't considered that she was young enough to still be a student. Her body was all woman.

  Don't go there, asshole.

  "How old is Allie, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "She's twenty-one."

  Fuck. Nine years' age difference. Zach was ancient compared to her. Damn, she was still a co-ed. The news dampened his excitement about seeing her. More than ever, he needed to keep things professional between them.

  "No offense, sir, but I wouldn't trust the Colombians to guard my dog, let alone someone as special as Allie."

  "What do you know about how special Allison is?" came the father's defensive reply.

  Zach's own defenses were starting to rev up. He didn't like how this conversation was going. "I know she is a fighter. She held it together through a difficult situation."

  An emotion Zach couldn't name settled into the senator's blue eyes. "I want to know what happened between you and my daughter, Captain." It was an accusation. What the fuck!

  "Excuse me?"

  "She won't talk about anything with me. She only wants to talk to you, and so I'll ask again. What happened between you and my daughter?"

  Emotions warred inside Zach. He was happy she'd asked to see him, but he wasn't thrilled with the shit her father was dishing out. "Listen, the only thing that happened between us was a miracle. I shouldn't have been on foot in those woods. She shouldn't have been driving with those goons. What were the chances that they stop the caravan of SUVs only feet away from my hiding spot after my helicopter was shot down? That Allie would jump out to try to escape, screaming in English so I knew she was an American? So yeah. You want to know what happened. A fucking miracle, that's what happened." Zach's voice had been rising. The thirty-six hours of interrogation with implications of wrongdoing had been bad enough. He didn't need Allie's dad giving him shit too. He'd rather the man just said thanks, and leave.

  Zach took a deep breath to calm down before he made an ass of himself.

  Mr. Benson knew he'd screwed up. "I'm sorry. Christ, I didn't mean to make it sound like you did something wrong. You're a fucking hero. You saved my baby. I'll never forget that, but…"

  Zach didn't understand. Allie was safe. All was well.

  The senator glanced away, a far off look in his eyes. "She's not herself. She's… broken. I don't know how to get through to her."

  Zach had been so worried that would happen when the drugs left her system. "It's only been a day. She's been through a lot. Give her time."

  "I wish I knew what to say." Blue eyes turned towards him again, this time the anger had vanished, replaced with fear. "The doctors aren't telling me everything. They say she was drugged. They won't tell me with what. They won't tell me if she was…" his voice trailed off. The word 'raped' was hanging in the air. "You are the only thing she will talk about."

  That was unexpected. "Me?"

  "Yes." He paraphrased his daughter's words. "'Zach found me. Zach saved me. Zach carried me.' The only time even a sliver of her sadness and fear leaves her eyes is when she is talking about you."

  That news shouldn't have made Zach happy, but it did. He'd thought of her, too.

  "I was just doing my job."

  "Bullshit. I was debriefed. I know you have your ass in a sling for not following orders. You have my promise: I won't let anything happen to you, young man. You are a hero." He paused before adding, "But…"

  Zach's chest had expanded with pride at his words.

  "But, I need you to leave here without seeing my daughter."

  A punch to the gut. That was what his words felt like.

  "Excuse me?"

  "She's been through enough. Seeing you will only remind her of the ordeal. We are leaving in the morning. She's being discharged and I'm taking her home. I want to surround her with everything that makes her feel safe."

  "I thought you just got done telling me that I make her feel safe. I'd think you'd like me to keep her calm."

  "She's young. Impressionable. She sees you as her hero. I don't want to confuse her. As you said—you were just doing your job."

  Fuck. Zach hated having his own words thrown back at him. He'd said those words to be polite. He was a damn helicopter pilot. A military soldier. He wasn't Superman. Saving damsels in distress wasn't part of his job description. There was only one damsel he cared about, and she was just inside.

  Zach chose his words carefully. "With all due respect, Mr. Benson, I misspoke. Saving your daughter was not my job. My job is to fly helicopters. When I found myself shot down by a missile, I could have only cared about saving my own skin, but I didn't. I put my own life at risk to save your daughter."

  "So what do you want?"

  "Excuse me?"

  "A reward? Money? A medal?"

  Zach balled his fists, trying not to follow his first instinct, which was to knock the sonofabitch out cold. He stood, distancing himself from the senator.

  "Fuck you. I don't want a single thing from you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Allie."

  Zach was halfway across the patio when her father shouted after him. "Please. You're only going to confuse her more. She's so impressionable. She's going to get hurt."

  He stopped in his tracks, swinging around to stalk back towards the senator again, answering in his face. "I think I've proved I'd kill before I let someone hurt her. You said yourself she wants to see me. Don't you think my never coming to check in on her will hurt her? You think she wants to fly off without saying goodbye?"

  The men stood toe to toe in a standoff. Zach held his ground until Mr. Benson flinched. "Fine. You can have five minutes with her. Then I'd like you to leave."

  "I'll leave when Allie wants me to, and not a minute before." Zach turned and went in search of Allison. There was nothing left to say to her father, the ungrateful bastard.

  Chapter 5

  Allison kept her eyes closed tightly. She was so sick of doctors, nurses, investigators, police, and even her father pelting he
r with questions. Every time she'd been forced to relive any details of the kidnapping, another small piece of her died. Killing off her erratic emotions was the only way she was coping.

  The nightmare of her kidnapping wasn't the only vision Allie kept replaying in her head, over and over, like a record set on repeat. She'd spent all of her alone time trying to remember everything she could about her hero, as it was preferable to the trauma of the kidnapping. Zach Garrett. She knew his last name now.

  How she wished she could get some rest, but every time she succumbed to sleep, the horror of what had happened consumed her slumber, bringing with it memories she'd hoped to forget. She awoke each time in a cold sweat, heart pounding and tears falling. No, by staying awake she could at least control her thoughts.

  The drugs had dulled her memory, but they couldn't dull the thrill she got as she remembered her handsome hero. His rescue mission was the kind of scene dreams were made of. Handsome hero saves damsel in distress. That shit was only supposed to happen in romance novels, not in real life.

  The door opened and closed. She didn't dare crack her eyes open for fear of being detected. It was probably her father again, insisting they leave as soon as possible so he could get her home where she could forget the whole nightmare had happened.

  Allie had a rude awakening for him. She would never forget what had happened. Not for as long as she lived. He meant well. He was worried about her, but she wanted to scream at him to leave her alone. His judgmental hovering was only making her feel worse.

  Her visitor stood at the side of the bed—their shadow blocking the late afternoon sunlight coming through the window.

  "Allie? Are you awake, honey?"

  It was him! He'd come.

  "Zach! You came!" She threw back the cover on the bed, sitting bolt upright and flinging herself into his arms with relief. She'd begun to wonder if her memory had played tricks on her—had he been real?

  The sound of his soft chuckle comforted Allie more than she wanted to admit. "Of course I came. I told you I would."

  "Daddy said they weren't going to let you visit me."

  "Yeah, well, Daddy must have been wrong."

  She melted against his strong body, loving how he held her tight. Involuntary tears pricked at her eyes as he stroked her long hair with one hand and held her waist hard against him. He released her too soon. She wanted to stay in his arms. It was the only place she felt truly safe.

  "Let me get a good look at you." Zach reclined her back against her pillows and looked down at her with a serious expression. His eyes examined her from head to toe, taking stock of her injuries. "I see they have your wrists wrapped. That's good. Did they give you a tetanus shot?"

  "I think so."

  "I'll be sure to check your chart. Did you have to have any stitches?"

  "No."

  "Did they draw your blood to figure out what the drug was?"

  "Yes. They sent it off to be tested."

  "How about flushing your system. Have they…" He leaned in close enough that she caught his masculine scent that had calmed her while he'd held her on the flight back to base.

  Allison couldn't take the twenty questions a minute longer, holding up her hand as a silent stop sign.

  "Yes. They had me on IVs. The drug has been washed out of my system. No, I'm not in as much pain. Yes, my head hurts when it's time for pain meds. No, they aren't letting me get dehydrated." She was being a total bitch, snapping. She didn't understand why.

  Zach grinned at her. "I see you've got your spirit back."

  She sighed. "I'm tired of being poked and prodded, you know?"

  He sat down on her bed next to her left hip, turning to face her. "I do know. I haven't been poked and prodded, but interrogated over and over, like they thought my story was going to change."

  "God, I hate that you are being treated like that when you were my hero. They should give you a medal of honor!"

  "I'd settle for a simple thank you or good job."

  Allison reached for his hand and he twined their fingers together. "I don't remember all of the details, which I guess is an okay thing. Just in case I didn't say it last night… Thank you, Zach. From the bottom of my heart… thank you. I know without a doubt I wouldn't have made it out of there alive without you saving me."

  "You're welcome. I'm glad you made them stop the caravan of SUVs in the woods where you did, or I wouldn't have known you were in trouble."

  "So that's how you knew I was there. I couldn't figure it out."

  "I'm a helicopter pilot. I'm rarely on foot on the ground during missions. It was a miracle I was in the right place at the right time."

  A shiver shot through Allie at how close she'd come to disappearing forever. Those assholes who had kidnapped her had had no intention of letting her go. Convoluted memories, clouded by the drugs, threatened to overwhelm her again. It was so easy to work herself into a panic attack thinking about all of the horrendous things that could have happened.

  Zach must have sensed the return of her dark thoughts because he leaned in to pull her upper body into his arms for a bear hug.

  The second his arms closed around her, she felt truly safe for the first time since waking up in the base hospital. With her relief came tears. Tears brought on by pent-up fear, anger, relief, and confusion.

  Zach held her tighter, pulling her to sit in his lap exactly as he'd held her on the helicopter flying back to base. He whispered encouragement against the shell of her ear as he let her sob, the emotional dam she'd been holding together by a thread dissolving into a full-out breakdown.

  Through it all, he comforted her. Promised her it was going to be okay, and by the time she'd spent her tears, she was finally starting to believe him.

  I'm safe now. Zach won't let anyone hurt me.

  The room was bright in the afternoon sun, made brighter by the proximity of her hero. He was even more handsome than she remembered. For the first time since the drugs had been flushed from her bloodstream, she felt the stirring of sexual desire, relieved to discover this urge had been from her own natural attraction to Zachary Garrett.

  The sound of the door closing and footsteps approaching the bed broke their private connection. Allie didn't need to open her eyes to know it was her father in the room with them. He'd been pacing nervously in his Kenneth Cole dress shoes since he'd arrived, his mood swings fluctuating like an erratic kite in the wind.

  "Excuse me, Captain Garrett, but I believe visiting hours are over."

  Allie held onto Zach tighter, afraid he would disappear and she'd never see him again, then sad because she knew it was inevitable. Renewed tears streamed down her face. Zach leaned over so he could grab several tissues from the nightstand next to the hospital bed.

  "Hey there. No more tears now. Everything is going to be fine." They'd separated enough that she could see the smile on his face, but the same sadness she felt radiated from his eyes. She took comfort that he didn't want to leave either.

  After wiping the tears from her face, he held the tissue to her nose and said, "Blow for me." It was ridiculous after all they'd been through together that something so simple could melt her heart, but she melted into the gentle comfort he wrapped her in with his presence. True panic of being without him had her holding on to him with all her might.

  Her dad was close enough that she could feel him stroking her back. The presence of her two protectors helped her push her fear back down until she calmed.

  Allie knew they couldn't stay like this, so it wasn't unexpected when Zach stood, scooping her into his arms and then leaning down to lay her head against the stack of pillows. He tucked her in carefully, refusing to meet her eyes.

  She felt him pulling away. He was going to leave.

  Allie latched onto his arm, holding his hand in her own as hard as she could, hating the desperation she heard in her voice when she finally spoke. "Don't go. Not yet."

  The men in the room exchanged a guarded glare before Zach smiled down at her.
"Your dad is right. What you need the most right now is your rest. I haven't slept or showered yet. I'm going to go home, but…" he stopped, looking up at her dad before he finished his sentence, "I'll be back first thing in the morning."

  She refused to let his hand go. She didn't want to waste any of the precious time she had with him. "Don't go. Not yet. I can't get to sleep anyway."

  His eyes were back on her. "Well, we can't have that. You need to rest." Allie let out the breath she'd been holding when he sat down next to her again. "How about I stay here next to you until you get to sleep?"

  Her head was pounding from all the movement, but she didn't care. She sat up to hug him again until he gently laid her back, tucking her covers up around her.

  "Go to sleep, Allie, and when you wake up tomorrow morning, I'll be back to see you."

  True to his word, Zach held her hand, keeping watch until she finally succumbed to the exhaustion.

  The jeep Zach was driving needed a brake job, squealing as he pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the hospital the next morning. He'd collapsed hard the night before. He'd only taken the time for a fast shower and a bite to eat before he fell into his bed, so exhausted he'd forgotten to set an alarm. He'd planned to arrive at the base hospital thirty minutes ago. Senator Benson had assured him that they wouldn't leave until after he'd said good-bye to Allison, but Zach didn't trust her father.

  There was a different receptionist at the desk today. He knew where he was going, breezing past the desk on the way to critical care.

  "Excuse me, Captain! You can't go back there!" The alarmed woman who'd been reading a magazine as he'd arrived chased after him. Not wanting to cause a scene, he stopped, turning to address her.

  "I'm expected. Allison Benson—"

  "She's gone, sir." Was that regret in her eyes?

  "Gone? What do you mean, gone? Did they take her somewhere for more tests?"

  "No, sir. Her father… well, the senator was upset and he couldn't wait to get his daughter moved to a hospital back in Virginia, closer to her home."